A Riddle Of A Different Nature
by sandrews
Summary: Post TDK, Batman is faced with a whole new set of troubles. And with someone running around impersonating him and killing the innocent, what is he to do when tradgey strikes Gotham? My version of The Dark Knight Returns.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: No Copyright Infringement Intended. That being said, references to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight and DC Comics Batman will be made in this Fan Fic. All rights to characters in the following story are held solely by the abovementioned. **

**Being a fan of the Dark Knight movies, this story would be set after TDK, and would be my suggestion on how a third movie would sound like.**

**And with out further adieu….**

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_**That's it then. You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain. **_**Nothing could be more true. They had set the dogs on him. The beacon they used to call him, was ripped down from atop the Major Crimes Unit. Warrants came out for his arrest. Threats on the news. Gotham was out for Batman's blood. He was the vigilante that was feared by all. **

**And in the midst of all the hatred that was turned on him, he continued to prowl the night, as save the innocent and young from the drug dealers, pimps and murderers out on Gotham's streets. And every morning, when he returned home, it became that much harder to don the mask again in the evening.**

**Bruce Wayne sat on the metal bar stool in front of the glass case that held the Bat suit holding the mask and looking at the hollow eyes. He flinched a little as Alfred pushed the needle into the back of his shoulder blade, making the final stitch, on a new wound he received that night.**

"**There, another one. Sown up and cleaned." He watched as Bruce stood, and turned to face him. He looked down at the mask again, then up at Alfred.**

"**Alfred, its worse every night. Its like I turned into the very **_**monsters I've been fighting. When I come out of the shadows, children scream, criminals they say things like, 'what are you doing to do shoot me like you shot those cops?' Some people don't want to be saved by Batman."**_

_**He grasped the mask tighter. "I've seen what I have become Alfred, they don't need me…" The older man looked at his charge. It had gotten harder. He remembered only a few nights ago, rushing into the car, hurrying along the alleyways looking for him beaten broken. Helping Bruce up from amidst boxes and trash bags. A bloodied and broken mess he was, when Alfred came upon him half dead, the knife still in his side, shot in the thigh… Alfred lifted his hands to his eyes trying to shake the memory of almost losing him.. Again.**_

"_**Sir, Why do we fall?" Alfred asked. Bruce smiled.**_

"_**So that we may learn to pick ourselves up again. You haven't given up on me yet, Alfred"**_

"_**Never. Now listen, Gotham doesn't really have a choice in the matter. Until someone else comes along, they are just going to have to do with you."**_

"_**I wasn't meant to inspire hatred."**_

"_**Batman can be whatever they want him to be. That's just the magic of Batman. He can be the hero, and he can be the villain. He can carry that burden. Master Wayne, when you decided to do this, it was because you knew Batman could transcend what any man could not. Batman is not just the man, he is the idea, a legend."**_

"_**I don't know if I can bare the burden Batman has put on me!" Bruce threw the mask at the marble wall. It hit the wall with a thud. He looked around at the snow white floor, the black marble desk with computers on it, at the Bat Suit and sighed. "Alfred, I was meant to inspire good. Not hatred."**_

"_**But you have inspired good, Master Wayne. Look at the crime rate, its down. Look at the people in Gotham that don't fear the night anymore, because they know that you are watching over them, keeping them safe." He walked past him and set the mask in the case that held the suit and closed it. He stepped back and the case sank into the floor, and it sealed up like nothing was ever there before.**_

"_**Safe. Rachel died thinking I was going to keep her safe." Alfred winced. Bruce had lost faith in the world after she died. He walked over the younger man and put his arm on his shoulder.**_

"_**Master Wayne, did I ever tell you about the time I was in the Baltic lands, during the struggle for power and control of the sea ways?"**_

"_**No, Alfred."**_

"_**Well, the various cities appointed their own leaders, some were ruthless, some compassionate to the public. But none were like Mikalov Sarkova. He was loved by his people. He protected them and kept them safe. But being in a position where he was charged with keeping his people safe, he had to make decisions that were not agreed with, but decisions that were right for his people. The people rioted, hated him. He was so loved and in a matter of time, he became hated. People threw rocks at him when he walked the streets. His wife Iliana was murdered in her bed. People wanted nothing to do with him. But when the Dutch came to their front door and Germany was pounding on the back door, who, Master Wayne, do you think they turned too?"**_

_**Bruce shook his head and pulled his coat over the shirt he put on. It was becoming a very cold November. **_

_**But it was only about to become colder.**_

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_**Author's Note: What do you think?**_


	2. Chapter 2

Commissioner Jim Gordon sat at his desk staring at the crème colored envelope that sat on his desk. It looked like someone had drawn question marks in black ink on the front of the envelope. He traced the little question marks with his finger and sighed.

He looked up at his computer. _November 3__rd__, 9:00 pm_. His wife was going to be furious. Another late night at MCU. Another unsolved crime. He pushed his chair back and walked to the window behind his desk.

_Make the Call!!! I killed those people. _He heard that gruff voice in his head night after night. He took off his glasses and rubbed his nose. He looked back up to the sky, searching for him. It was difficult, not being able to contact him when he needed help on a case.

He turned around and leaned over his chair, picking up his letter opener and the envelope. The secretary had dropped it on his desk right before she left, around 5. He didn't even have a chance to look at it until now.

A smooth flick of his wrist and he was able to access the note inside. He threw the envelope and letter opener on his desk and unfolded the small note. He took note of all the little question marks that littered the note.

The note, really meant nothing to him. Something about remembering the 5th of November. He looked up through the window and searched the sky again. Just then an idea came to him. He stuffed the letter, and envelope into his blazer pocket and pulled a flashlight out of his desk.

Jim made his way up the steps of the emergency stairway to the roof. He threw open the door and looked up at the sky. He couldn't fix the beacon, but he certainly could flash lights all night until he got his attention. He looked at his watch and then back up at the sky.

The Mayor would surely crucify him if he found out the was working with Batman. He held his flashlight up and shone it for a few minutes. Then flicked it off. Commissioner Gordon turned around and shook his head.

"This is impossible!" He turned around and flicked his flashlight on again and waved it in the air, and then flicked it off.

He took a few steps to his left and shone the light again and waved it around.

Batman sat high up on the ledge of one of the banks, watching the streets below. Tonight was quieter that it had been in a long time. He looked up and noticed the flashing lights off of the roof of MCU. Time to head over there and check it out.

Gordon was exhausted. It was freezing up there. He turned off his flashlight and holstered his gun.

"You called?" Gordon started and turned around. There he was, sitting on the ledge, his arm resting on the beacon, watching Gordon calmly.

"Uh, Yea. Where have you been? I've been out here for an hour doing that!" Gordon waved his hand over his head, looking irritated. Batman followed his arm with his eyes and then the settled back on his face.

"Fine, look, I just received this today. I don't know what it means, and I really have too many open cases to even chase this." He pulled a crème envelope and a small note littered with question marks and handed it to Batman.

Batman unfolded the note and looked down at it.

"What do you figure it means?" Gordon asked, then clapped his hands together and blew on them.

"I don't know. I'll look into it and I will get back to you." And with that he was gone.

Jim Gordon walked over to the roof door, and stopped briefly to make sure all was clear and walked down the stairs.

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Author's Note: I need to build the storyline, before it gets fun. Just bare with me.


	3. Chapter 3

Bruce Wayne sat at the kitchen counter watching Alfred pour two cups of coffee. It was 4:30 am, November 4th, and he had just got back from his night prowl.

He carefully laid the envelope on the table and pushed it towards Alfred. The older man set down the two mugs and lifted the strange note.

"And Commissioner Gordon gave this to you? How ever did he get a hold of you?" Alfred asked as Bruce sipped the coffee.

"Morris Code." Bruce blew on the coffee and looked up at his long time friend. Alfred looked back waiting for an explanation. " With a flashlight on the roof of the police department, Alfred."

Alfred nodded and pulled the note from the envelope, noting the question marks riddling the envelope in black ink. He sighed and read the note aloud.

" It says, 'Remember, Remember the 5th of November, Gunpowder, Treason and Plot. I see no reason why Gunpowder, Treason , Should ever be Forgot' and its signed by a question mark." Alfred grunted. And then he set the note down.

" It's a nursery rhyme Master Wayne." Alfred put his glasses on and looked at the note closer. He leaned over the counter and traced the question marks with his finger.

"Okay, then this is the question, why would someone send the commissioner a nursery rhyme?" Bruce leaned back a little and watched the steam roll off the coffee into the air.

"Well the rhyme refers to a period in the 17th century English history where a man by the name of Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the house of parliament with several dozens of barrels of gunpowder. He was meaning to blow up the house of parliament, but was seized and arrested before he executed his plan. Uh, let me think. Bloody hell, I think his punishment was being hung, drawn and quartered. I was the penalty for treason back then." Bruce shook his head.

"So we are dealing with someone who loves rhymes? Or history?" Bruce scratched his head.

"Or nothing at all, Master Wayne. Now, its time for you to get some sleep, Lucius expects you at the shareholders meeting today at nine." Bruce rolled his eyes, and smiled.

"Alfred, you are a hen. Goodnight!" Alfred smiled and watched the tired man walk toward the bedrooms. Even Alfred had a big morning. Wayne Manor was getting ready to be constructed, and he was going to meet the contractors in the morning to review the blue prints.

The clock struck twelve and Jim Gordon slapped his head in frustration. He threw his glasses down and looked up from the pile of paperwork.

Ramirez stood in front of him, her head cocked to one side.

"They found him on the corner of 7th. It looks like there was a struggle and his assailant dragged him into the alleyway. But the weirdest thing about the crime scene is all the question marks that are spray painted in black along the walls of the alleyway." She snapped her notebook closed and looked over at him. He looked very agitated.

" Question Marks? Who was the victim?" Gordon cleaned his glasses with a soft white cloth and fixed them on his nose again.

" Looks like it's an assemblyman, uh, Jason Lexington. He was a newer assemblyman for the Gotham City fourth district. This was found on his body." She held up a plastic evidence bag with a crème envelope with black question marks on it. Gordon's eyes widened as he stood up and in one fluid motion, snatched the bag from her hand.

He sat on the front of his desk and leaned over his computer to pull his letter opener out from under the stack he put atop of it today. Making quick work of the seal his eyebrows furrowed as he pulled the note out and read it.

"I! But… I don't know what this means!" Gordon shoved the paper back into the envelope and into the bag, and stuffed it into his pocket.

"Let's get down to the crime scene." Gordon walked around his desk and put his badge on, and slipped his gun into the holster, checking the safety as he did so.

Lucius was doing a good job leading the meeting, updating the shareholders of the dividends and reviewing the various profit margins. Working out the budget for the next fiscal year. So Bruce paid as much attention as he could, nodding his approval every time something sounded important, but soon, like in most meetings, he was off to sleep, oblivious of the looks that he received.

When the meeting was over Lucius tapped Bruce on the shoulder and waited for him to wake up. Bruce started, and then sat up.

"Another great quarter, Lucius." Lucius gave him a irate sigh and then smiled.

"Mr. Wayne, another long night?"

"Well, when you have all the money in the world at your finger tips, the women are relentless. You know how it is, a party here, a party there…"Lucius laughed and nodded.

They headed to the office Lucius used and shut the door. Lucius sat in his chair and watched Bruce unfold a sheet of paper from his pocket and set it on the desk.

"This was sent to Commissioner Gordon last night, he asked me to look into it." Fox read the note and looked up at Bruce.

"Is this supposed to mean something, Mr. Wayne?" Bruce nodded.

"Alfred says it's a nursery rhyme. It speaks about a criminal in the 17th century that tried to blow up parliament. And was punished for treason." Lucius sat back.

"And what are you thinking?" Lucius asked as he pulled the paper off the desk to examine it closer.

"Well, crime has been a bit more organized ever since, well, Harvey's death. There are shipments of explosives coming into the harbor and they are getting raided on a daily basis. Not only that, but…" Bruce was cut off by the ringing of his phone. He pulled it out of his blazer and looked up at Lucius.

"Its Alfred," he said before flicking it open, "Yes, Alfred. I am by a television, yes." He motioned for

Lucius to flick on the television. Bruce furrowed his brow.

"What channel, then?" Bruce mouthed 6 at Lucius as he flipped to the desired channel. Bruce shut his phone as Lucius turned up the volume.

"This is Evelyn reporting with GCN, we are here at a crime scene on the corner of seventh where we find assemblyman Jason Lexington murdered." The reporter moved backwards into alley as Bruce leaned closer to the television.

"Police say they found the man around noon today, in the alleyway graffitied with question marks. Witnesses say that the Batman is in connection with the murder and police are trying their best to follow the leads that they are receiving. Here's Commissioner Gordon."

The reporter rushed over to Gordon and shoved the microphone under his nose. He looked irritated when he saw her and went to step around her when he was cut off by the cameraman.

"Commissioner, do you have any suspects? Do you think Batman committed this murder? What is your plan to prosecute the guilty?"

Gordon gave her an incredulous look, "No! no! We do not have any suspects at the moment, we are working the crime scene for fingerprints and DNA. The Batman did not commit this murder, but we are not at the position where we can rule anyone out. When we catch the murderer, we will turn them over to the DA, and let Gotham's legal system take care of who is and isn't guilty." She opened her mouth to ask more questions, but just then the coroner pulled the deceased out into the line of the camera's vision and the cameraman turned to follow the body.

Commissioner Gordon caught sight of this and placed his hand on the lens and shouted for them to leave. But Bruce had seen enough. The young assemblyman's face had been carved into a question mark, an it looked like he had been stabbed several times in his chest. His pants were ripped and had large black question marks on them.

Lucius flipped the T.V off. Bruce leaned over and snatched the small paper from his hand and stared at it.

"This is more than just a nursery rhyme. It means something more, can you do a fingerprint analysis on it? The only people who would have touched it would be Gordon, Alfred, you and myself… Get me the name of the author of that note."

Bruce stood up and handed the note to Lucius. It was 6 o'clock. Still too early for batman to go out. But he would take his chances. He waited by the elevators and as he boarded the one heading down, he wondered if the Joker was behind this.

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Author's Note:

Have we figured out who the new villain is??


	4. Chapter 4

It was seven o'clock when Batman jumped through Commissioner Jim Gordon's office, to find the man staring at a small piece of rumpled paper looking frazzled. Gordon's glasses sat on the peak of his nose and his hair looked like he had run his hand through it one too many times.

Gordon was whispering the words of the note over and over to himself and then clicking his tongue, and shaking his head.

"Another note?" Gordon started and looked up, and saw Batman standing at the corner of his desk.

Gordon sighed. He walked around the chair between him and Batman and handed him the note. Batman looked down at the note, and then at Gordon.

"What did you find in the alleyway?" His intense stare made Jim Gordon, seasoned detective step back.

"No fingerprints except for the assemblyman's. Not one damn fingerprint. Its like someone went through the whole alley and wiped it down. Only the dumpster and the garbage in it had prints. And they belong to the kid that takes the garbage out for the restaurant near the alleyway." Gordon pulled the chair out and sat in it.

Batman could see the man was exhausted. Files riddled his desk, and it looked like he hadn't touched them today.

" And the Note? Where did you get this?" Gordon swiped his hand over his chin.

"It was found on the body, today." Batman turned his attention to the note. It was the same paper that the previous note was written on. Crème colored and littered with black question marks. He unfolded the piece of paper and read the words silently to himself.

His eyes widened as he looked up at Jim. "Do you have any idea what this means, Commissioner?"

"No, I don't! I've been standing here for damn near two hours trying to figure out what the hell that has to do with anything!!" Batman watched as Jim stood up and every word came as a shout from his lips.

Batman waited until the man calmed down and then spoke, "Its another nursery rhyme. The first one, it spoke about a man who broke into parliament in the 17th century and tried to blow up the House of Parliament. According to my sources, at the end of the rhyme the man is captured and killed for his treason."

Gordon watched as Batman pulled a small black cell phone from his belt. He clicked it open and placed it on his ear.

Alfred pulled a small black phone from his pocket. His heart dropped. Every time that blasted thing rang he knew Bruce was laying somewhere and he would have to go on a tirade along the darkest corners of Gotham to find him.

Alfred answered.

"I have a favor to ask you." Batman paused. He mentally noted the sigh of relief on the other end of the line.

"I have another note, I need you to decipher." Batman waited until Alfred responded before the read the

riddle aloud.

" It reads, 'Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the King's horses, And all the King's men couldn't put Humpty together again.'"

Bruce could hear Alfred clicking on the computer.

"It sounds like another nursery rhyme," came the voice over the phone. Batman's eyes traced the line that Jim Gordon was pacing on the floor of this office, and then flicked his eyes back to the paper in his hand.

"Aha!" came the triumphant exclaim over the phone. "It actually refers to a period of time in the during the English War where this canon, called Humpty, was placed on the high wall of a fort that it was defending for the Royalists and the Parliamentarians, and opposing side where able to shoot and destroy the wall and the Canon with one blast from there canon. And of course the Royalists, all the king's horses and all the kings men, that is, couldn't restore the canon and the Fort fell to the Parliamentarians." Batman sighed.

He clicked the phone shut and looked back at the Commissioner. "This Rhyme refers to a fight within a nation. And it sounds like the rhyme culminates with the change of Political Power."

Gordon stopped to process the information for a moment. "That still doesn't bring us any closer to what this guy wants."

When he looked up, Batman was gone. Gordon threw his hand in the air and stormed out of his office.

Batman was sitting on the roof of the restaurant where the murder had happened near. He dropped into the alley and crossed under the yellow tape. He snapped a picture of the white line that was traced over the dead body and pulled a brick out of the wall with a sole question mark on it.

It was later that night that Alfred found Bruce sitting on the floor of the library in the penthouse with the note and the brick in front of him. He had several books laid out in front of him and in his hand he held the pictures he had taken from the alleyway.

"In early for the night, Master Wayne?"

Bruce looked up at the clock. It read 1 AM. " Alfred, whatever is going to happen is going to happen tonight. The 5th of November. And we are no closer to the answer. And I still cannot figure out who we are dealing with."

Alfred settled himself on the carpet next to Bruce. He picked up the brick and looked at it. He shifted the brick to his right hand and with his left pulled his glasses out of his pocket and put them on his face. He pulled the brick in close again and studied it.

"Clearly, Master Wayne, its someone who has familiarized him or herself with the history of nursery rhymes."

"A School Teacher, then?" Bruce shook his head.

Alfred picked up the note and held it next to the brick, his nose perched up in the air as he scanned both items closely.

"Master Wayne," It came more as a question, "Does it look like these are two different types of handwriting?"

Bruce looked up startled. Just what he needed. Two psychos running around Gotham. He leaned over and took hold of the note and moved it closer to him. Alfred moved the brick over and held it close to the note Bruce was holding.

"See how in that one, the curved of the question mark is more pronounced, like it is all over the note? But on this brick here, there is no curve, not as pronounced as on the note."

The phone rang. Bruce looked at the clock again and sighed.

"What the bloody hell? Who would be calling at this hour?" Then the phone went silent. Alfred sat back down and resumed looking from the brick to the note. Bruce leaned back and rubbed his temples.

"So let's lay out what we have. First a note back someone who blew up parliament…"

"Tried, he tried to blow up parliament Master Wayne, but he was captured and killed."

"Okay, then a note about a failed attempt.." The phone rang. Both men sat looking at each other, and then at the phone. Alfred stood up to answer it and it fell silent again. Bruce's cell phone exploded with a sense of urgency. Vibrating across the stack off books. He picked it up and looked at Alfred.

"Hello Lucious, what's bothering you at this time of night?" Bruce said as he looked at Alfred. Bruce's eyebrows furrowed as he reached over the couch and flipped the small television on at the far end of the library. He flicked over to channel 6 and his mouth dropped.

On T.V stood Batman holding a young girl by the back of her hair on the steps of City Hall and holding a gun to her head. It the background he could see patrol cars and officers rushing past the cameraman with guns held high. Commissioner Gordon had his hands up and was trying to confront the Batman.

Bruce launched from his seat on the floor and headed into the bedroom chamber to get suited up.

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A/N: Yikes! Poor Bats!


	5. Chapter 5

Thank you to my only reviewer!! And yey! I became a favorite author!! Thank you, thank you!

* * *

The Tumbler, now reconstructed, hit the pavement tires screeching. Batman's eyes scanned the road as he shuttled past park cars and on empty streets. He didn't care that they were one way streets. Or that he was heading down them the wrong way.

When he came upon the alleyway that connected him with the street City Hall sat on, he stopped his tanker and parked. Bruce stopped for a moment. This imposter stood to take everything away that Batman and Bruce had worked to hard to get. Safety, Justice, Truth. All gone, because this imposter was going to execute a girl in front of the people of Gotham. And then Bruce heard those fateful words again, "_You either die a hero, or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain."_

The City Hall building was easy to scale. Batman positioned himself over this bat imposter and then it struck him.

"Remember, remember the fifth of November," Parliament _was_ City Hall for Gotham City. Batman sneered and stepped off the roof. His cape billowed about him as he watched his descend from the roof top. He landed with a slam, landing on his feet in the crouching position. He looked up at the imposter and his eyes narrowed.

***

Commissioner Gordon was holding his hands up over his head and walking slowly up the steps toward Batman. He couldn't believe the man that he had counted on for back up could be capable of this insanity. He was going to have to arrest him. Gordon's eyebrows furrowed. _He must have cracked under all this pressure. __All the hunting, the bad press, the accusations. _Jim walked up the steps slowly thinking maybe he could talk Batman down.

The closer he got to Batman, and the girl, the more he started to realize that this couldn't be BATMAN. His features looked so construed. This Batman had black work boots on, with black jeans. The closer he got, the more he started feeling he should reach for his gun.

This guy looked like he had _real_ wings glued, or growing from his shoulders. They fluttered angrily around his head. He face, unlike the mask that batman wore, was blackened with long hairs that shadowed this guy's features. His ears grew straight up and were covered in the same hair that covered his face.

Gordon reached his hands down, going for his sidearm. At that moment he saw the man's teeth bared. Long sharp canines came over the man's lips as he sneered at Gordon.

The girl screamed. The Bat-thing tightened its grip on her and pointed the gun at Gordon's head.

***

Bruce was disgusted by the thing he saw in front of him. Just then he saw the thing move its arm to point the gun at someone down the stairs.

***

All Jim Gordon saw, before the thing fired and hit him in the shoulder, was Batman appear behind this imposter and wrap his forearm around its neck. Camera filming the whole scene, Batman threw the imposter down to the ground and turned to see the girl rushing down the steps.

Gotham City's Finest opened fire on both Batmen as they fought atop City Hall steps. Bruce punched the imposter just as he swung his gun and knocked Bruce upside the head. They grappled, the imposter tripping and sending them both toppling onto the ground. Batman took a hard punch to the stomach and then he winced in pain as he heard the low thud of a bullet imbedding itself into his bicep. The imposter smiled and threw Bruce over him, and he rolled back toward the entrance of the main building.

Police were rushing up the stairs now, Gordon shouting from below something that was now inaudible because of the rapid gunfire. The imposter stood up and rushed toward Batman, and he swung up, hitting him with the razor like blades on the cuff of his suit.

The imposter looked up and turned to run around the building. Bruce watch the first cop come over the steps and shot his gun, repelling himself to the top of the building, taking another shot to one of his calves. Once over the roof again he limped over to the far edge, adjoining the alleyway to see where this Bat- imposter went.

To his surprise the thing flew up screeching in his face. Batman stepped back as he swung out against the imposter. Then it spoke to him, it made a loud hissing noise.

"You, are Batman." It circled batman with a snicker. He had collected himself and was turning slowly to follow the thing in front of him.

"He told me you would come, yes, he did." The thing made a loud hissing noise.

"Who told you I would come?" Batman turned slowly, his cape covering his body as he fingered the different compartments of his belt to find something he could fight back with.

The thing sniggered. "They call me Man-Bat, and I have found a way to harvest the powers of a bat, and a man…" The thing laughed as it lunged toward Batman. He managed to bend out of the way, and was hit hard over the back when the thing turned as it missed its intended blow.

A Helicopter broke through the sky and shooter fired on the two figures on the rooftop. Man-Bat flew off the far side of the roof while Batman disappeared into the shadow of he alleyway.

Bruce limped to the tumbler and place his arm on the tanker. His knee gave out on his left leg and he landed in a puddle falling toward, hands on the side of the tank to stead himself. He blew out a angry breath and then stopped as he heard a whimper in the corner of the alleyway.

The girl, she couldn't have been more that 26 or 27 was huddled in the corner crying. Batman looked over at her, and pushed himself up of the ground. He walked slowly toward her to conceal his injury and stopped when he was over her.

She cowered into the corner of the ally, clearly frightened from what she saw. _**Or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.**_ The words echoed loudly into his mind. Fear. This girl, he had just saved was frightened of him.

"Are you going to kill me? Or any or those cops for shooting at you?" She asked. Her voice barely a squeak. He dropped down onto one knee and looked her in the eyes.

"You need to get to a hospital, you have cuts on your neck." He offered her a hand, and she stared at it.

_He could remember saving these people, and afterwards they would wonder where he went to thank him. _Batman watched as the girl extended her hand and touched his gloved fingers. She ran her fingers across the tips of his gloved ones and looked up at him. She'd stopped crying.

"What is your name?" He asked, his voice gruff. He was patient not to grab her arm and push her out of the alley, like he wanted to, to get her medical attention.

"Anna. My nam--- why d-do you ask?" He watched her out of the corner of his eye, reach out and touch his extended hand.

"Anna, get up, the ambulances are out there, you need to get to one of them." He side stepped her question again. The girl nodded and took his hand as he pulled her up. He followed her as she walked slowly to the end of the alley, where an ambulance sat off to the edge of City Hall steps. Before they reached the end of the alley she turned around and looked up at him. He stopped, his cap falling around his shoulders, covering him again.

"You protected me." To Bruce it sounded more like a question than a statement. He didn't move, he just continued watching her, cool and calm. She bounced on one foot then the other. It scared her that he didn't say anything his just watched her arm movements as she ran her arm up and down her shoulders trying to keep warm.

"You protected me from that crazy guy. Thank You Batman." She leaned forward and threw her arms around him. He froze. And then his heart lurched in his chest.

_Maybe this isn't a lost cause. Maybe there are still people in Gotham that need me. She looked up, and searched his eyes for any emotion and when she found none she dropped her arms. _

"_Did you kill those people?" she turned her head and looked behind her, checking to see if anyone had found them in the alley. _

"_Do you think I did?" He asked, and went she turned her head, he was gone. She started looking around the alleyway, up at the roofs. Nothing. He has vanished. The tumbler sat looking menacing in the corner, but he couldn't have gotten in there with out her hearing him._

_She looked back toward the ambulance. Her cuts were bleeding down her shirt. She looked up and then back at the tumbler. _

"_No!" she shouted into the alleyway, hoping he'd hear her. He did. Bruce clicked the buckle on the seat and a smiled touched his lips for the first time in months. When the girl left the alley Bruce was able to back the tumbler up and speed down the road before cop cars could trail him. _

_He entered the garage, and parked the tumbler. When he jumped out of the vehicle, he spotted a frantic butler pacing the floor of the white room. He paced near the desk that was littered with computers, the Bat-Suit case standing empty near by._

"_Alfred…" Bruce mumbled. The older man turned, and ran to his charge just before his knees gave out again. _

_Alfred caught Bruce's head before it hit the ground and shook his head._

* * *

_Hmm.. What do you think?? -SA_


	6. Chapter 6

Bruce fought sleep as Alfred finished digging the last bullet out of his thigh. He made quick work of the stitches and then stepped back. Bruce swung his legs over the table he laid on.

"Master Wayne, you need to get some sleep…" Bruce cut him off before he could finish.

"Alfred, I need to find out who this Man-Bat is and who he is working for. Don't you understand? Someone is out there impersonating me and making things worse!" Bruce slipped off the table onto his feet, with a wince of pain.

"Master Bruce, the only thing I understand is that you need your rest to fight this battle, what good are you doing Gotham if you are weak or even dead!" the older man put his arms on the young man's shoulders and pushed him back on the table. Bruce winced in pain and then relaxed.

A door opened alerting both Bruce and Alfred. Lucius Fox walked down the steps and approached the two men.

"I see you were at another party Mr. Wayne." He smiled and handed Bruce a disk. "This is what I could find."

Bruce stood up and walked to the computers that were in the middle of the room. He inserted the disk and downloaded its content. Alfred and Lucius moved in for a closer look. Bruce winced a little as he readjusted in his seat. Listening carefully to the disk spinning wildly in the drive while the computer read the data.

It almost seemed like hours as the three men watched the hourglass on the computer screen. And then they were rewarded for their patience. Pictures sprung up of a man who Bruce had never seen before. Lucius came around to stand by the computer screen.

Bruce studied the pictures of the man. He had ear length black hair, and stood almost 6' tall from what Bruce could make out. He wore a sharp suit, thin framed glasses and held a sleek looking brief case. Bruce stabbed at a key on the key board and the pictures shifted. Pictures of the man continued to scroll before him until he reached some files he began to read to himself. Alfred leaned in a little closer.

Lucius, becoming impatient, sighed. " The man before you goes by Edward E. Nygma. He works for ACI Consultants. As a matter of fact, he had applied to become a partner at the firm for the past 4 years, consequentially begin denied each time."

Bruce sat back his borrow furrowed. Alfred pulled two little white pills from his pocket and set them in front of the young man, who looked relieved when he saw them. Bruce briefly looked around the desk for water, and then resigned to take the painkillers dry.

He swallowed and winced again. " Okay, Edward sounds like a business man. What the hell am I looking at a picture of him for?"

Lucius interceded gently, " Edward Nygma excelled greatly in math, science, forensics and history in school. The man's credentials show brilliance. However," he leaned over and hit the enter button on keyboard, " our friend seems to have done about 2 stints in Arkham in the past 8 years. And I was able to match a half fingerprint on the note you gave me with his thumb."

Bruce sighed. He readjusted in his seat again and looked at the computer screen closer. " So this is… uh, what, question mark man?" He rolled his eyes and pushed away from the computer screen.

"So, where can I find him? I'll take care of it all before anything happens today." Alfred shifted a little.

" Master Wayne, you seem to be forgetting about this bat-man. Or Man-Bat thing, what's his role?"

Bruce stood up and walked toward the case the bat suit would have been in, if it wasn't in a heap in the corner.

"Are you so sure they are connected Alfred?"

Chaos. That's what Jim Gordon was dealing with. It was 6:30 in the morning, he hadn't been home yet. His wife had called and left him 2 scathing messages, reporters where standing all around City Halls steps, and he was left cleaning up another Batman nightmare.

He walked toward a patrol car and was cut off by a reporter, shoving a mic under his moustache. Gordon's glasses slid down and he rammed them back up the bridge of his nose.

"Commissioner, as Batman has clearly shown his true colors to Gotham, what is Gotham's police force plan in order to apprehend the criminal?" Gordon's eyes widened. No matter how many times that question was asked he always had to steady his inclination to take his gun out and beat the person who asked it. Batman was the good guy! Wasn't he? All the times he helped Gordon's solve those crimes. Bringing down Falconi. Apprehension of the Joker. Harvey Dent. Gordon looked at the reporter and then the camera. He knew the real batman. It seemed like he was the only one who did.

"The batman is a vigilante operating outside the law. We will be renewing our effort to arrest him." Gordon threw his hands up helplessly. He didn't have time for this. _Remember the 5__th__ of November._ Memory of the note flew through his mind and he shoved past the camera man and into the awaiting patrol car.

Bruce drove the Bentley down the streets of Gotham toward City Hall. He caught himself again as he dosed off and his hold on the steering wheel relaxed and he swerved to the left. He slapped himself across the cheek in effort to wake up, and sat a little straighter. It wasn't long before his grip on the wheel relaxed again.

This was going to be a long day. He remembered briefly the look on Alfred's face when he got dressed instead of undressed for bed.

Bruce caught himself dosing again, and tried to sit straight in the driver seat. _The great Batman, killed because of a car accident. _

_But that wouldn't be the headline on the front page of Gotham Times. Something more like "Drugged up Playboy Billionaire dies in a tragedy car accident." But it wouldn't be a tragedy at all, who would mourn for a lost Bruce? Not Rachel. Maybe Alfred. His mind slowly turned to the elderly gentleman. There were times he wanted to call him Dad, when he was younger. Alfred had raised Bruce. Alfred had loved Bruce like his own. But he was always too scared to whisper that word. Afraid that it would anger his father, in heaven, hopefully looking down on him. What would Thomas Wayne say today if he saw his son, barely awake and speeding at ungodly rate toward abyss?_

_Maybe today would be the day he wouldn't go home. He swerved, this time clipping a parked car. Bruce opened the window, hoping the cold air would jolt his senses._

_Edward Nygma stood in front of the large scale model of City Hall. His eyes brightened as he clapped his hands and leaned in a little closer to the model._

_Man-Bat, in his human form, Dr. Kirk Langstrom watched the mans eyes widen and sighed. His wife had been sick. He had asked the members of Gotham to help fund her rehabilitation. He had been the Doctor to make a break through in the study of wildlife. Gotham accredited him for the vaccines against bat rabies. But when he need the city the most he was shut down, and thrown out in the cold. He looked around for his shirt, his chest becoming cold._

_Nygma spoke, "98 on your math test he says to me! Next time do better! Ha! I'll show you father! I'll show them all! They think they can just shun me? They think they are smart? Well, its time to show them what genius is!"_

_Kirk had been regretting coming to arms with this… neurotic psycho. But he had promised him help for Francine. Her cancer… Edward Nygma was not a man of violence, he needed someone to do his dirty work. And in exchange, he would solely fund Francine's rehabilitation, he would make his wife better._

"_Tell me Man-Bat…" Nygma's shrill voice filled the air. "What's big and green, and goes BOOM!" he threw his head back and laughed._

_Kirk looked over to the corner of the room. Vials of blue fluid sat on the lone table not littered with puzzles, and Nygma's conquests. He walked over, picked up the surgical gun and loaded it with a vial. _

_Nygma watched through hooded eyes, in fantasy. Langstrom injected himself in the shoulder and leaned over. A horrible, blood-curdling scream coming from his lips. Nygma clapped his hands as the man in front of him stretched, his shirt ripping off his ever growing form. _

"_Its time, bring the box." Nygma turned on his heel, adjusting his question mark cane, and his bowler hat. _


	7. Chapter 7

::Flashback::

Nygma sat, hands strapped behind his back in a white coat, the buckles steadfast on his chest. His lone cot was worn, smelled of urine, and the padded walls of his one room smelled stale.

He banged his head off the wall as he rocked back and forth mumbling.

"The square root of pie is 1., the theory of quantum…."

"Hey!" Nygma started. He looked toward the small window in the door, criss-crossed by metal bars. "If you are so smart, why don't you figure a way out of here?"

Nygma slid off the cot and walked over to the small window. He watched as his neighbor across the way smiled. His teeth yellowed. Nygma smiled.

"I'm sure I could. But you see, the doctor, he is such a great adversary for my riddles. HAHA! He sits there and he tries and tries… Some he figures out, and some, they elude him, as the stars elude us on a stormy night. Ha, ha, ha…." Nygma banged his head off the door and laughed.

"Oh, but truly, you could find a better adversary? One on the… outside?" Nygma watched as the man in front of him shifted closer to his cell window, squinting his eyes to get a better look at him. Where those scars? On his face?

"I like the doctor… for now." Nygma narrowed his eyes. "Lets play a game, are you good at riddles?" The man in front of him threw his head back and laughed menacingly.

"I am good with jokes! HAHAHA!" He watched as the man in front of him slammed his head off the metal bars, and his head started bleeding. "Do you know how I got these scars?" Nygma shook his head. He was above the psychos. He was a genius. He had the doctor convinced he was fine. He would be out in no time. He turned to walk away from the insane man across the way, when he heard something that almost made him drool.

The joker grasped at the metal bars on his door. "There is one person who's genius can rival yours? The Batman!" The Joker noticed how this grabbed the man's attention. "He foiler of plans, the do-gooder of Gotham! An immoveable force!" The joker threw his hands up in the air and toppled backwards.

Nygma could hear the man fidgeting to stand back up. He returned to the small window again, a smile on his face. "Why sooo serious? Are you afraid the Batman will best you?"

Nygma's temper flared. "Fallacy! No one could ever, ever best me!"

"Then prove it! Chaos! Bring about chaos, and the Batman will come running… Like a bat runs to the darkness. And then play with the little rodent… see if he piques your fancy."

Nygma's eyes flashed.

::end flashback::

He walked to the elevator as he heard the window crash. Man-Bat was on his way. The Riddler, re-adjusted his bowler hat and smiled. He really didn't want to play with Batman. He wanted to figure out the true identity of the rodent. The ultimate riddle! He would be revered by all if he could solve the ultimate mystery. Bring this vigilante to justice. And that's why he needed Man-Bat.

He faintly remembered his last human thought. It was hard to control his urges when he changed. Rage, that's all he felt. It was difficult to keep on track.

"STICK TO THE PLAN!" Nygma would shout at him sometimes. His wings batted loudly around his sensitive ears.

It was day time and everyone could see him. Shrieking from the streets when they saw him. It was so loud! He swooped down and slammed the screaming woman into the window of the coffee shop. The quiet was only momentary as more and more people screamed. He swung the box he held over his head, and sent a man, who had bravely come to the aid of the injured woman over the pasting cars.

Man-Bat let out a blood-curdling wail and flapped his wings. What was he supposed to be doing again? The box? Something about City Hall.

He redirected his flight toward city hall. More screaming. His sensitive ears hurt so bad! Why do they have to scream? He landed and grabbed the woman screaming by her throat. She kicked out at him hard. She landed a foot into his side and he shrieked. He brought her closer to him, and his canines dropped out of his mouth, saliva falling from his lips. He sunk his teeth into her shoulder and she screamed louder. He shook his head, and threw her against the closest building wall. A shot was fired behind him, and as he turned he vaguely made out the figure of a police officer.

He flapped his wings, becoming airborne again. The police officer shifted again firing shots after the Bat. When he was out of rounds he reached for his radio.

"Uh, this is car zero niner, calling in a code 30, code 30, emergency assistance required. Uh, 10-57 shots fired shots fired! Batman, just killed a woman! Requesting immediate back up!"

Muffled radio noise distracted the officer, he lifted his hand off the button. "Copy that zero niner, what's your 20?"

"Intersection of 7th and Lexington." It took only the few seconds to reload his gun before more units showed up. He pointed that he was going to follow Batman and got in the car and hit the gas. He flicked on his sirens, signaling cars to get out of the way.

Gordon heard the call. He was in the nearest patrol car, mounted on the curb, sirens blaring. He watched as pedestrians threw themselves into store fronts, and the road to get out of the way. Batman was in trouble, and he had to get to him first.

Bruce Wayne's car slammed into another parked car. Everything almost felt surreal. He was exhausted. Mentally, and physically. The sound of the sirens alerted him as a cop car swerved around his, and shots were fired. Bruce hit the brakes and threw his car into park in the middle of the street. He stepped out of the vehicle just in time before the person behind him rear ended his Bentley. Bruce barely noticed. He was staring up at the top of city hall, where Man-Bat had a business man held by his throat dangling over the edge. He let go and Bruce watched in horror as the man's arms flailed about him and his body collided with the stair case. Breaking bones sounded loudly as the top stair split from impact

Bruce turned on his heel. He had a spare suit at Wayne Towers. It was only a few blocks from here. He took off running, and then a rumble under his feet sent him into a parked car. A rippling explosion sounded breaking windows and sending off car alarms. City Hall's front steps had exploded. Flying debris hit on coming cars as people swerved to avoid the chunks of cement flying through the air. Cars crashed into each other and people laid on their car horns, crushing and duck out of reach.

Another explosion. This time, the small café next to city hall. The large mushroom cloud of sheet rock dust plumed into the air, making it difficult to breathe. Bruce's dark hair was covered in debris, he vaguely noticed the shrapnel embedded in his arm.

He got up and fell back down, disoriented. Someone grabbed him by the jacket and pulled him up, wrapping an arm around his waist. He looked up and saw Alfred. Holding on to each other tightly they ran toward Wayne Tower.

Nygma smiled as he darted through the underground tunnels of the City. He felt the first rumble, and then the second. He would succeed at what the Joker could not. After all, he was a genius. He headed toward City Hall, a small skip in his step.

When Gordon arrived on scene Armageddon had broke loose. Car alarms were going off. A 14 car pile up in the middle of the intersection, a large particle cloud has settled over the steps of City Hall. People were laying in the street with various injuries. Gordon got out of his car and slowly turned around.

What the hell was he going to do? What was going on? Was this a terrorist attack? Did Batman do this? A loud shriek echoed from the top of the City Hall stairs and suddenly it was like it was raining fire.

Man-Bat had opened the metal box and was pulling grenades out of it. He pulled the pins and chucked them down over into the street. The first explosion was the last thing Gordon heard. He went temporarily deaf after the grenade collided with a parked car, exploded, sent the car flying on top of the car pile up and then the gas tank exploded. Raging fire spread quickly as other grenades raining down. Gordon vaguely noticed another gas tank explode, and the fire from that vehicle sent a screaming child down the street arms flailing. A man tried to push the kid onto the ground, in effort to put out the fire, but the flames spread up his sleeves rapidly.

Gordon was screaming into his radio, "I need the national guard! Get every unit down here now! NOW!"

Fire truck sirens lit up the streets of Gotham as people scrambled in the mayhem. And them Gordon saw something that brought him a bit of relief. It was short lived though.

The tumbler shot through the air, and cleared the carnage in the middle of the intersection. But a grenade collided with the tanker, and the explosion sent Gordon to his knees as shrapnel flew everywhere from the impact.

Batman rose from the wreckage, his cape billowing around him as he made his way up the steps. Ambulances swerved to a stop as EMTs ran out and started attending to the injured. Firefighters unloaded from their engines and went to work on a fire hydrant. A expertly placed grenade blew up said hydrate sending men flying everywhere. The rumble of water being release was deafening as water erupted uncontrollably from the hydrant.

As Batman made it to the top stair Man- Bat had turned his attention to the approaching figure. He smiled, fangs bared and lunged at Batman. They fell through the crack in the stairs, falling into the lower archive rooms of City Hall.

Batman was momentarily distracted by a shrill laugh. He pushed Man-Bat off of him and willed his eyes to refocus. He was so exhausted. It was so easy to just fall asleep right now. He needed it.

He was thrown backward as a figure slammed a cane into his chest. Once his eyes refocused again he pushed up and saw the man he was supposed to be apprehending. He wore a green bowler hat, with a thick black question mark on it. His suit was sharp, green, and riddled with question marks. He raised his green gloved hands and waved his brass question mark cane.

"Nygma, what are you doing!" Batman shouted.

"So the great Batman has figured out who _I_ am, but the real riddle is 'Who is the Batman?'" Nygma adjusted his black mask, that covered only his eyes.

Man- Bat stirred as Batman stood up and walked toward Nygma. Nygma gave a nervous laugh as he backed away.

"Riddle me this, riddle me that who's afraid of the big… black… BAT?" he swung his cane and hit Bruce in the shoulder, just as Man-Bat pulled him backward.

The last thing Bruce saw was the spew of blood that flew from his mouth before he slipped into darkness.


End file.
